Book 1-Established in the Truth

Book One

"ESTABLISHED IN THE TRUTH"
"Do all you can to establish
them in the truth."
(Rev. Nathan Buchnam, 1743)
A REPRINT OF REV. JOHN E. MORGAN'S
"HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCH OF BOYLSTON"
First published in 1943
With the kind permission of his wife.

F O R E W O R D
In preparing this Historical Review of the Boylston Church the Pastor has had the able assistance of Deacons Calvin H. Andrews and George H. Boyden, their terms of office in the Diaconate having been served uninterruptedly for forty-five years and twenty-three years, respectively. Their knowledge of Boylston history and traditions has been acquired through long years of useful identification with Church and community affairs.
The Pastor has had access to articles and papers of the late George L. Wright, Town Historian and former Librarian, and has made use of two historical sermons, preached in 1852, by the Reverend William H. Sanford. The Church and Parish Records contain a wealth of information and they have been studied with great delight.
Also, acknowledgment is here made of courtesies received at the New England Historical-Genealogical Society, Boston, where I was privileged to examine the historic Record Book kept by Dr. Morse, the first Pastor.
This Review was used as the basis of two historical sermons preached from the Boylston pulpit September 19 and 26, 1943 on the them: "The Vanished Past and the Expected Future."

John E. Morgan

The Parsonage

September 15, 1943

HISTORICAL REVIEW
The President of Princeton University, in a volume recently published, has given to the opening chapter a title that might well be the watchword of an historical record such as is now my purpose to write: "The Road to Tomorrow Leads Through Yesterday." Keeping that suggestion in the foreground of our minds will save us from yielding to only a superficial celebration of so noteworthy an event as the Two Hundredth Anniversary of our Church.

Relating tomorrow's goal to yesterday's achievements will sanctify today's opportunity and will help to keep aglow the necessary sense of mission, without which any Church is apt to succumb to the paralyzing malady of futility and detachment. In reality, there is no such thing as an isolated Christian, not can there be any such thing as an isolated Church. A Church can no more detach itself from its past record than can the individual divorce himself from the family ties and associations that make up his native background. We are today, to a large extent, the product of yesterday and tomorrow's Church and tomorrow's Nation, are being moulded today by the ideals, the affections and the loyalties to which we are now giving ourselves. Thus the seasoned observation of Dr. Rufus Jones has direct and appropriate meaning for us as we prepare to review our Church's history: "One way to prepare for the future is to recover the past and to hold it vividly in mind. The past is meant to be a guide for the future." That is precisely what an Anniversary celebration should do. There would be no point to the observance did we not strive to get a fresh hold upon the past, not alone for the pride that such retrospection gives but, also, for the inspiration it imparts as we look forward to the future. So, "remembering the days of old and considering the years of many generations," we shall tell the story to our children," writing it upon the doorposts of the house and binding it as a frontlet between our eyes." When we have done that we shall have made use of one of the safest guides available for the future, the course having been capably charted out of the rich treasure-house of the past.

For some the history of the Boylston Church has become a well-loved and familiar story. There are some families within our constituency who can trace their lineage directly to the early settlers of this region. Some of the names on our present Church roll are found among the pioneers who settled the wilderness hereabouts; they were the men and women who made up the backbone of yesterday's Church and were identified with every good cause in the community. "Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore."

Those who know the story largely through ancestral ties, will agree that the narrative is a sacred one. Such people will not mistake that they are "standing upon holy ground" when the tale is retold during these Anniversary days. We reiterate that a family background with much of God in it is a heritage not to be equalled by the inheritance of houses and lands. The holy legacy of a Godly background ought to be the greatest incentive for seeing to it that the family tree does not wither and decay and, as we sometimes say, "go to seed."

But there are others for whom the story may not be so familiar. These are they who have more recently come into the community to live, who are not connected by blood ties with the ancient and honorable past of Church and Town. As the years roll by it is to be expected that the company of such in a community like this will continue to multiply. As these people identify themselves with the Church they must be made to feel that the inheritance of the past is theirs also. Unless we can make them so feel, then the mistaken idea is apt to become prevalent that the Church belongs exclusively to someone else, somebody who has lived here longer and whose ancestral line goes back farther. That would make for a serious and deadly attitude of restriction within the ranks--and none of us wants that kind of Church. The Church must always be an inclusive community or it will never be "a blessed community." The Church here in our midst belongs to every man and woman and youth who is a member of it. While you are a living member it is your church, regardless of the ancestral or denominational lineage from which you have come. In its achievements you will take just pride and in every failure it experiences you will assume your full share of responsibility.

So, whether our love for the Church is something we have inherited because our fathers and mothers, for many generations, have been members here, or if it be a love for this place that has been acquired by adoption, so to speak, we shall be seeking to further the idea that each of us is a partner in the great Enterprise, and each one a part owner, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God.

FIRST PARISH IS GATHERED

The Church as an organized body had its beginning when, on December 17, 1742, residents living in what was then known as the North Precinct in Shrewsbury, became incorporated, on approval of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts. In 1786 the Precinct was incorporated as The Town of Boylston. Shortly after the North Precinct of Shrewsbury was established, the Church was organized, or "gathered," to employ a term then used. The date was October 6, 1743. Thirteen men received dismission from the Shrewsbury Church and these, with a few others, became the covenanting members of the First Parish. About a year later sixteen women, most of them being the wives of the men who were earlier dismissed, brought their membership from the First Church in Shrewsbury to the First Parish in the North Precinct.

On February 18, 1743 the Precinct voted to build a meeting-house and after surveyors had established the most central location, the building was erected on what was then known as the South Common, near the site of the present Old Cemetery.

The first pastor of the Church was the Reverend Ebenezer Morse, whose name appears frequently in the annals of the Church. Dr. Morse came from Harvard Divinity School, was ordained here October 26, 1743 and continued in a happy relationship with the Church until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He was a man of towering intellectual strength, equalled only by his ability to espouse a cause and then fight uncompromisingly in its defense if that became necessary. Before taking up the study of theology the young man had studied law and medicine and during his pastorate had frequent occasion to use his knowledge of both on behalf of his parishioners. He was not only pastor and teacher but doctor and lawyer as well. He was only twenty-five years of age at the time of his settlement in Boylston. Soon he married Persis, the daughter of Ensign John Bush and built a house on the site of the house now occupied by Deacon Calvin H. Andrews, part of the present house being the original Morse dwelling. After a pastorate of nearly thirty years, his relationship with the Church was severed and by dramatic and somewhat violent means. Dr. Morse was a Royalist; naturally, most of his people resented the Tory sympathies of their pastor and objected to his outspoken utterances but the fiery man was not to be silenced by parishioners' criticisms. He refused to accede to the request that he resign the pastorate, nor would he agree with the Parish in calling, in good Congregational fashion, an Ecclesiastical Council to settle the dispute by amicable means. Finally, the Council was called ex parte and the pastor was relieved of his office. So insistent was he, however, that it became necessary for the Parish to place constables at the pulpit stairs to keep him from entering thereto.

As was the custom in those days, church records were kept by the pastor. The minister was his own clerk and statistician. This record book the dismissed pastor refused to turn over to the Parish. Repeated efforts were made to retrieve it but without success. When Dr. Morse died the effort was renewed with his family but without favorable result. Finally, all trace of the record was lost and for one hundred and twenty years its whereabouts was a mystery. In 1922 the volume came to light when it was discovered to be in the possession of one Tay Edwards, Coney Hill, by Franklin Center, Quebec, Canada. The book was given by this person to the New England Historical-Genealogical Society, Boston, and is in their possession now. Only a few days ago the present pastor had the privilege, through the courtesy of Library officials, to handle the prized historic volume and was permitted to make a few notes from it. The book is a rather crudely bound affair and as might be expected, its contents are quaintly written and fascinating. All vital statistics are recorded together with certain proceedings pertaining to the dispute between the pastor and the parish. Also, there is a genealogy of the Morse family showing that there were eleven children. I think the only record extant of the covenanting members of the First Parish is that contained in the ancient volume. It was written as follows by Dr. Morse:

Apparently, Dr. Morse deeply resented the procedure employed by the parish in terminating the pastorate as we find a note in the records of twenty-one years later, March 9, 1794, as the Church was preparing to ordain a pastor, "the irrepressible Dr. Morse appeared at the Council, claiming he had never been regularly dismissed, and demanding that justice be done him." It is safe to assume that the militant pastor, equipped with the weapons of a fine intellect and a fiery disposition, was still fighting for justice and for his Royalist convictions when, on January 3, 1802, at the great age of eighty-four, he laid down his weapons and joined the Church on High.

SECOND PASTOR AND THE NEW MEETING-HOUSE

The second pastor called to preside over the Church was the Reverend Eleazer Fairbanks. For sixteen years Dr. Fairbanks maintained the pastoral office and it was not until toward the end of his pastorate that fierce dissension arose among the people over the site of the proposed new meeting-house. The fact must not be lost sight of that the geographical lines of the North Precinct of that day were more far-flung than the area which now comprises the Town of Boylston. The parish was at that time made up of people who came from as far away as the towns we now know as West Boylston, Sterling, Holden, and Clinton. When negotiations were started for the constructing of the second church building, residents living in the westerly end of the town wanted the Church built nearer their location. The matter of selecting a site was finally put into the hands of a committee of referees from Lancaster, Northboro and Bolton. It is said that the exact geographical center, established by a survey made by the committee, was a marshland and unsuited to a building. The decision was finally made to build the Church on the site of the present Sawyer Memorial Library. So opposed to the plan were the residents of the westerly side of the town and so bitter had the controversy become that these people petitioned the Legislature for incorporation as a separate precinct. The request, after a battle which lasted sixteen years, was granted and the Second Precinct proceeded to build its meeting-house on a site later purchased by the state at the time of the building of the reservoir. The church stood near the little stone church that can be seen today, surrounded by water, from the causeway in West Boylston. The Congregational Church, now standing on the West Boylston Common, is the daughter Church of the Boylston Parish.

What part, if any, Mr. Fairbanks took in this heated and protracted controversy is not clearly known but for some reason the pastor became the object of a dispute. One of the most fascinating documents that has come to hand during the preparation of this historical narrative is that of the Ecclesiastical Council called together in Boylston on April 23, 1793. Dr. Joseph Sumner, pastor of the Shrewsbury Church, was moderator and the Reverend Reuben Holcomb was scribe. The proceedings are worth recording here:

'The Council after forming and looking up to Heaven for direction took under their most serious and carefull attention the peculiar state of the Pastor, Chh, and People in this place, and endeavourd to collect all the light possible in order to fix their judgment as to what was wisest, and best to be done: and after mature deliberation have come to the following result: to advise a dismission of the Revd. Eleazer Fairbanks from his Pastoral Relation to this Chh & people.

"It is with sensible pain we view this as most expedient in the present case. We in justice here say that nothing has been exhibited to this council to the disadvantage of Mr. Fairbanks's character; and we rejoice to add that this stands in a fair and amiable point of view: and we can heartily recommend him as one we hope may greatly subserve the interest of the Redeemer's Kingdom in the world. And on the other hand nothing has appeard to set the Chh & people in a disagreeable light. We sympathize with them in an event that is in itself gloomy and unpleasant. A circumstance in Mr. Fairbank's settlement now disagreeable to him, a supposed coolness in some, and disaffection in others seemed to have been the origen of the expediency of the dissolution of the Pastoral relation, and given ground to fear his usefullness would not be so great as could be wished for if he was continued their Pastor. We recommend to this Chh and People in the strongest manner possible to cultivate mutual love, friendship and unanimity; to take every wise and prudent step that may promote peace among themselves, and strive after a resettlement of the gospel ministry among them. Our earnest desire is that they may ever know and pursue the things of their true peace, and that the Pastor and people, may, by grace be ripened for, and finally admitted to that blessed world where imperfections and disagreements are known no more and love reigns eternal.
"Voted unanimously as the Result of Council."

An interesting development in connection with church music is recorded during this period. The hymnal almost universally used up to this time was the old Bay Psalm Book. Not all the people were adept in reading so the custom was to have a capable person, usually a deacon, prompt the congregation by reciting a line which was then sung, then the next line was recited, and so on until the Psalm was finished. It was during Mr. Fairbanks's ministry that Dr. Isaac Watts's version of the Psalms was introduced. While the old Psalm Book contained the ancient Psalms verbatim, the new book by Watts used the Psalm largely as the inspiration and background for the hymn and included hymns by other authors. For instance, the hymn we sometimes sing:

The Heavens declare Thy glory, Lord,
In every star Thy wisdom shines;
But when our eyes behold Thy word,
We read Thy name in fairer lines

is probably based on the familier Nineteenth Psalm in which the Psalmist asserts:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament sheweth his handiwork

Speaking of church music, it is apparent that our forebears were much interested in this feature of public worship. There is a note under date of September 16, 1806, in which $60 is appropriated for conducting a Singing School in Boylston. We can imagine that such schools did a great deal in familiarizing the people with the hymns of the Church. It has been noted that "the first instrument used in this Church after the giving up of the stringed instruments was an old-fashioned melodeon manufactured about 1845. This instrument was a portable affair, carried in a trunk or case to and from the church by the player each Sabbath. Most prominent of the choristers was Caleb S. Crossman, afterwards a well known professor of music in the West. John B. Gough acted for a time in this capacity and John A. Wood and Charles I. Longley were long the choristers." Within the recollection of many Boylston people is Mrs. Rebecca Garfield, now of Whittier, California, who for many years was choir director and was succeeded in that office by Mr. Walter A. Morrill who, from the time of the installing of the Flagg Memorial Organ in 1927 until November 1941, presided at the console. In the old Church Mrs. Mary E. French was for many years the devoted organist.

One other item out of this period that will have immediate interest for us is the fact that in 1780, three years after coming to Boylston, the Reverend Mr. Fairbanks built the beautiful old house near the Consolidated School, which was later owned by Mrs. Warren S. Young and is now owned and occupied by the Gilmore family.

The terminating of Mr. Fairbanks's pastorate came at the end of the first half century of the Church's life--fifty years into which had been crowded the struggle of the colonies against the mother country, which, in turn had given rise to the embarrassing and unpleasant episode between the Church and its first pastor, then the constructing of a second meeting-house and its attendant result of internal strife and division. These were momentous events, with far-reaching consequences but all of it a part of the unfolding of a story which we reviewing it from our vantage ground, are willing to describe as heroic and marked by devotion to the Truth as those sturdy people saw it and fidelity to the great Institution that played so important a part in their common life.

UNITARIAN-TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY

The next person to be called to the ministerial office was the Reverend Hezekiah Hooper. Due to ill health the pastorate was brief. Mr. Hooper, a graduate of Harvard, was ordained March 9, 1794 and was a native of Bridgewater where, in the old cemetery, one finds his monument upon which is engraved the following epitaph:

Beneath are deposited the remains of the Reverend Hezekiah Hooper, late pastor of the Church of Christ, in Boylston, who departed this life December 2, 1795, in the 25th year of his age, and 2nd of his ministry. Sober and exemplary, his mind enriched by a liberal education, he was prepared both to profit and please his fellowmen. Happy in the unanimity and cordial friendship of a kind, liberal and grateful people, he had a pleasing prospect of enjoying many days of peace and prosperity. But ah!--how uncertain are the most flattering hopes; cut down in the morning of life, he has left his parents to mourn the loss of a beloved son; his people a useful, affectionate and faithful pastor; and his country a true friend and valuable citizen. His parents, to preserve his memory, and to express their affection, have erected this monument.

One of the most distinguished gentlemen ever to hold the pastoral office in Boylston was the Reverend Ward Cotton. He was descended from a long line of famous clergymen including the Reverend John Cotton who escaped to this country from England in 1633, having been summoned before high officials there to give an account of his Puritan sympathies. The famous ministers, Increase and Cotton Mather, were of the same family as was John Cotton, Jr., who was famous for his knowledge of the Indian tongue and had a responsible part in revising the second edition of John Eliot's Indian Bible.

Mr. Cotton's pastorate here was a long one, extending from June 7, 1797 to June 22, 1825, and was marked by a number of important events. It was during this period that there was waged in the Congregational Churches of New England the fierce theological debate which resulted in the establishment in this country of the Unitarian Society. The question has been sometimes asked as to how the Boylston Church remained intact as an organization during this period when Congregational Churches everywhere throughout New England were torn asunder by the debate and a second church formed in many a community where heretofore there had been only one. The fact is that the Boylston Church did have its advocates of both liberalism and orthodoxy and for a time, so we are told, there was a small Unitarian Society which met in the town but was never strongly established. The years of greatest difficulty, so far as the local controversy was concerned, were between 1810 and 1814. Mr. Cotton, who was of the more liberal theological persuasion, had some supporters of like mind in his flock, though the pastor was not dogmatic and endeavored to "keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."

It was inevitable that the pastoral relation should be terminated. With the request of seven of the brethren, who appealed to him for the calling of a church meeting to discuss the question of his possible dismission, a good and regular proceeding in a Congregational Church, the pastor agreed. On June 22, 1825, with the approval of an Ecclesiastical Council, the pastoral relation was severed. Reference should be made to another side of Mr. Cotton's ministry. It was not all one of contention and debate and the likelihood is that had not the doctrinal dispute arisen outside the town the relation of the pastor with the parish would have continued and ended as pleasantly as it had begun. Apparently, Mr. Cotton had the respect and admiration of the parish as there is a reference to his having received from the parish a gift of $400 at the termination of his pastorate. The record also shows that during his ministry there were ninety-eight admissions to the membership and four hundred one baptisms.

It should be noted, too, that it was during this period the important work was begun by what have come to be two of the strongest societies within the Church. The Female Society for the Aid of Foreign Missions, later named the Ladies' Benevolent Society, was organized in 1815 and the Sunday School was formed in 1818. These two organizations have had an uninterrupted existence since their inception and have fulfilled in their respective endeavors a highly important function in the life of the Church to this day.

It is not to be expected that with the departure of Mr. Cotton everything was restored to peace and harmony within the Church. The theological debate waged during his ministry was not a local issue in its inception though the influence of the controversy, as we have suggested, was felt locally. The issues were still being fought after Mr. Cotton's retirement. Throughout New England the doctrinal debate raged, which resulted, as already suggested, in the rise of another religious denomination. What usually happened was the seceding of the evangelical or Trinitarian branch to erect another building on the opposite side of the Common or at the other end of the town to continue in the established tradition leaving the church building, many of which were very old and rich with historic associations, together with all church equipment, to the liberal branch which afterwards became the Unitarian Society.

While the local Church was not confronted with a new church organization, or, at least, not one that existed for very long, it was faced with the delicate and almost impossible task of finding a new pastor who would appeal alike to Trinitarians and Unitarians. Finally, the Reverend Samuel Russell was called and was ordained June 21, 1826 and remained until 1832. The Council called together for the Ecclesiastical procedure was agreed to by both parties within the Church and was composed of representatives from Congregational Churches in Dunbarton, N.H., the town from which Mr. Russell came, Berlin, Lancaster, Paxton, Leicester, Rutland, Sterling, Holden, Shrewsbury, Longmeadow, Northboro, and West Boylston. The observation has been made that "in this Council were represented all the isms by which the Congregational Churches of New England were at that time distracted." We wish we had a complete record of the proceedings of that Council. What matching of theological wits there must have been and what posing of doctrinal shibboleths. Ordaining Councils in those days were vitally interested in what the prospective preacher believed and what he proposed to preach and the slightest deviation from established orthodoxy would be the occasion of a stiff and fiery debate. Of late, examining Councils seem to be less interested in the candidate's religious and doctrinal views and are more concerned about his "hobbies" and his "technique" of business administration.

Mr. Russell's ministry continued for six years during which time the Church enjoyed great prosperity, the records showing that there were 104 accessions and many baptisms. A fine tribute is paid the man in one record by Dr. John Todd of Pittsfield:

"His humility was such that he never performed those duties, to which most ministers soon become professionally hardened, without trembling. As a preacher, he was plain in manner and plain in matter, but he was uniformly judicious and practical. His talents in the pulpit were not those which astonish and dazzle, but his message of life were never from an indifferent heart."

WILLIAM H. SANFORD'S MINISTRY

The state of affairs prevailing in the parish at the time of the Reverend William H. Sanford's coming is best told in his own words in a sermon preached on the occasion of the twentieth year of his settlement:

"On the ninth of August 1832, the Church, without a dissenting vote, invited me to become their pastor. Of the 34 persons who were present at that church meeting, only 14 remain regular worshippers at this house. The remaining 20 are either in their graves, out of town, too infirm to attend at the house of God, or for some other reason, are not with us. The parish concurred with the Church offering an annual salary of $500. I had just left a salary of $1000 per annum, promptly paid in quarterly installments, where I was urged to remain and where all was peace and harmony; but left it because I felt it to be my duty to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This call I took under serious and prayerful consideration. There certainly could have been little that was inviting. A salary that I felt would not give me a full support; a town torn in fragments by dissension; a meeting-house by far too spacious for the small congregation of worshippers, inconvenient and uninviting in its construction, and yet an object of bitter controversy, and with no prospect, that I could see, of a favorable change. The only redeeming consideration was the hope and the probability of having a kind and an affectionate people. In this hope, it gives great pleasure to say, I was not disappointed. The insufficient salary, I felt that I could, in some way, make up. The warring elements, which were raging through the town, and which seemed to threaten the peace of any man who should occupy so prominent a place as the pastor of the Church, I was sure would yield to the influence of time, even if all other influences failed; and the meeting-house could be endured, at least for a season. I resolved, in the beginning, to take no part in the controversy which was going on in the town. My religious sympathies were, of course, decidedly with the Church over which I was installed. My religious principles I never could sacrifice nor compromise. But maintaining these principles, it was my heart's desire and prayer to God that peace and harmony might be restored to the town."

One has only to look at the record of the 25 years of Mr. Sanford's ministry to see that the man exerted a powerful influence upon the whole community. The theological debate gradually receded into the background and under his wise and competent leadership many progressive steps were taken. In the twenty-year period, which Mr. Sanford reviews in his memorable sermon, there were 135 additions to the membership, a considerable number when one remembers that the requirements for church membership were much more rigid then than at present. One was expected to give indisputable evidence that all was well with his soul and that he was a fit subject to be added to the "Body of Christ."

Among other advances in the Church's life during this period was the purchase of a new service for the Communion Table. The cost of the sacred equipment was about $85.00, the amount being raised by subscription "and the names of the more liberal subscribers are engraved on several of the articles which compose the service." We are fortunate in still having part of that Communion service, the pieces being about the only relics the Church has, other historic possessions having been destroyed in the fire of 1924. The Communion service here referred to consisted, originally, of two handsome polished pewter tankards, two plates and eight chalices and were brought here from England. All that remains of the service are four chalices, the other pieces having been destroyed when the third building burned in February 1924. These four cups, together with a beautiful gold-lined silver chalice are treasured possessions. The names of three of the "liberal subscribers" can still be deciphered on the inside base of three of the cups, the names being, J. Tilton, Judith Bond, and A. White. It so happened that only four, which we now have, were stored in the house of Mr. and Mrs. John Andrews, parents of Mrs. Mary E. French and Mr. Calvin H. Andrews and the house being the one in which Mrs. French now lives on Scar Hill Road. The ancient and original form of Communion was followed in those days with the "common cup" being passed to each communicant who partook of it and then passed the cup to the next person. For the pastor's exclusive use there was the sterling silver chalice, already referred to, given in 1799 by Ward N. Boylston, a descendant of the original family of Boylstons, who lived in Princeton, and for whom this town is named. The silver chalice was always placed upon the Communion Table at the time of the Sacrament but it was never used by any of the Boylston pastors they choosing, apparently, to drink from the "common cup."

The first individual communion silver was presented to the Church by Miss Nettie Tucker, who had been for some years the organist. The record of the Annual Meeting of January 5, 1910 contains this touching reference: "In November (1909) a gift planned before her death by 'Out Nettie' was received by the Church she loved so well and as each member took the cup of the individual communion service, provided by her loving thought, no eye was dry."

It was during Mr. Sanford's ministry that the third meeting-house was built. One can do no better than quote his words relating to the need for the new building:

"The church and the society felt deeply sensible of the evils connected with their house of worship. It was owned in part by persons who did not sympathize nor worship with them, who declined occupying their pews, and were thus deprived of the use of the property which they had vested in the house. The house itself was therefore a cause of division in the town, and tended to perpetuate the contentions which existed in this place. Again, the house would soon need extensive repairs, was too large for the congregation that worshipped in it, was uncomfortable and cheerless, afforded no convenient place for weekly meetings, was destitute of all the modern improvements which were found in other houses of worship in the vicinity, and destructive, on account of its construction and spaciousness, to ministerial life. That this source of division might be removed, and that the church and society might have a house suited to their wants, they determined , in the spring of 1835, to build a new house on a new spot which they purchased for that purpose. A contract was made, and early in the spring they began to prepare the ground, and the building of this beautiful and convenient house was begun. From beginning to end there was remarkable harmony in all the movements of the parish in reference to this undertaking. The spot upon which to build, the plan of the house, and the style of finish, were all easily agreed upon, and the house went up with great ease and despatch, because there were unity and energy among those who were engaged in the work. The house was finished and furnished, with all its appurtenances, by the 10th of December, 1835, when it was solemnly dedicated to Almighty God."

An interesting insight in the matter of pastoral visitation is found in a published utterance of the Reverend Mr. Sanford's and we quote it now simply to contrast the viewpoint with the modern mood as regards this side of a pastor's work:

"In my visits to the sick I have generally confined myself to those who worshipped in this house, though I have always been happy to visit others in their sickness when desired, or when I had sufficient evidence that it would be acceptable. The instruction of the apostle on this point is this: 'Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elder of the church.' This text makes it the duty of the sick, or of the families to which they belong, to request the attendance of the pastor."

That was nearly a hundred years ago. By today, I think no Christian pastor draws so indelible a line in his pastoral work as between churched and unchurched. I suppose, if one wanted to oppose the apostolic authority which Mr. Sanford quotes in this matter, there could be called to mind the words of Another, and a higher authority, who said something of a praiseworthy nature about those who ministered freely and with no thought of exclusion when " I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

In his preaching Mr. Sanford was possessed of an honesty and forthrightness, born of deep convictions, that any preacher of the Gospel would do well to emulate. For a preacher to be able truthfully to say: "I have never modified the doctrines which I have advanced to suit any man's particular views" indicates an awareness of divine authority and compulsion which reached its peak in the uncompromising utterances of the Hebrew Prophets and must have its parallel in every succeeding school of prophets.

PERIOD OF AD INTERIM PASTORATES

After the retirement of the Reverend Mr. Sanford in 1857, there was a period of about four years when the pulpit was occupied by supply pastors. Among these were the Reverend William Murdock, the Reverend Isaac G. Bliss, and the Reverend Daniel Wight. In September 1861 a call was extended to the Reverend Abel Hastings Ross and his term of service continued until 1866. In the meantime, the Civil War had started and the records show that the pastor, on numerous occasions, was away from his pulpit and pastoral duties in the interest of the United States Christian Commission. Mr. Ross went to Springfield, Ohio from this church and later was a lecturer on Congregationalism at Andover Theological Seminary and for a time was special lecturer in Church Polity at Oberlin and was finally elected Moderator of the National Council of Congregational Churches in the United States.

For seven years, 1866-1873, the Reverend Andrew Bigelow was pastor. Dr. Bigelow came of an old Boylston family, some descendants of which are still affiliated with the Church. Among the present invested funds there is a legacy of $1000 left to the Church by Dr. Bigelow. He died in Southboro in 1882 and later, in writing of their ministry in Boylston, Mrs. Bigelow says: "The uniform courtesy and kindness extended to us in so many different ways for nearly seven years, rendered the relation between pastor and people one of peculiar interest; with heart and hand both united in labor for the welfare of Zion."

One record mentions extensive improvements being made to the meeting-house and the installing of a fine organ. In the warrant for a parish meeting under date of March 14, 1870 is an article "to see what disposition, if any, the parish will make of their organ harmonium" and it was voted "to leave the matter in the hands of the Parish Committee in connexion with two other persons, Charles I. Longley and John A. Wood." What disposition was finally made of the harmonium the records seem not to show. We could wish that so quaint an instrument, once used in Sanctuary praise, were now ours to produce in an historical exhibit at this 200th Anniversary.

Following Dr. Bigelow's retirement the church had another period when the Pulpit was occupied by ad interim preachers. From 1873 to 1877 the names of Revs. W. H. S. Packard and Francis P. Williams appear in the records. It is said that the Reverend Mr. Williams perished when fire destroyed the Weeks House in Palmer.

During this era names appearing frequently in the proceedings of the parish are: Deacon H. H. Brigham, who served as Parish Clerk for many years, Lyman P. Kendall, Montraville Flagg, Charles I. Longley, A. V. R. Prouty, Horace Kendall, Jotham Hastings, William A. Moore, Herbert French, William H. Vickery, who for many years was parish tax collector and janitor of the meeting-house, and John G. Warner.

The present parsonage was built in 1873. Just how the plan for building the house got under way seems not to be recorded, the first reference to the building being in the parish warrant for August 25, 1873, Article 2, "To decide whether or not the Parish will accept the house now being built for a parsonage together with one quarter of an acre of land upon which it stands and assume all the responsibilities in connection with said house and land." The article was voted upon favorably and for seventy years Boylston pastors and their families have been pleasantly housed under the old mansard roof on Scar Hill Road.

A HEAVY DEBT PAID

From 1877 to 1882 the Church had the leadership of the Reverend Henry S. Kimball. The records throughout a long period of the 19th century indicate that the Church was faced with the perpetual burden of raising funds. In one parish meeting, under date of March 26, 1877, the debt amounted to $2190 which must have been a staggering sum for a parish that was neither financially well-to-do nor numerically large. However, the impression we gather from the aging record books is that the Lord's business was attended to with great promptness and fidelity by faithful stewards. There was no hesitancy about "taxing the pews" when money was needed which, of course, meant taxing the people who sat in them. As time goes on, however it is interesting to observe how the financial needs are met by appealing to the voluntary and spontaneous generosity of the people. For a decade or longer a frequent phrase in the business proceedings is this: "...the money to be raised by those willing to be taxed." That sounds like the equivalent of the present-day "Every-Member Canvass."

During the five years of Mr. Kimball's ministry the Church had an era of financial and spiritual prosperity. One record mentions that "50 persons united with the Church and the Sabbath School was nearly doubled in numbers." During this period the debt was paid off and the names of Joseph Avery White of Framingham, Thomas White of Brooklyn, N.Y., John B. Gough, and the Rev. Dr. D. O. Mears, pastor of Piedmont Church, Worcester, are mentioned as having given great assistance in the effort.

At an adjourned parish meeting, under date of March 11, 1878, the attention of the parish is called to "the condition of the meeting-house that the steeple was in bad condition that it was so much rotted in consequence of leakage that it was unsafe to stand longer. Voted that the matter be left in the hands of the Parish Committee with the addition of two more, Lyman S. Walker and Alonzo Ball to take down the steeple and supply the place with a dome or otherwise as they may think best." This action is indicative of another change that gradually came into the business procedure of the parish. Matters were more and more being placed in the hands of a Committee for execution. The steeple here referred to was of very graceful and attractive proportions, pictures of which are extant and are to be on exhibition during the present celebration. At this time the steeple was repaired and reinforced but not noticeably altered. In 1902 or 1903 the steeple was destroyed during a severe storm and the one that replaced it gave the building the appearance by which it is most fondly and readily remembered today by the older people of the community. For the first time a clock was placed on the Church, the expense being met by the Town.

BRIEF PASTORATES

Through the years from 1882 to 1902 the pastorates were of brief duration. For about one year, 1882-3, the Reverend Nathaniel S. Moore supplied the pulpit. He was followed by the Reverend Israel Ainsworth who came to Boylston from Boston, N. H. in 1884 and was here for a little more than three years then went to Beachmont, Revere. Next followed the Reverend Austin Dodge who served in the capacity of supply pastor between 1887 and 1891 and was succeeded by the Reverend Carlos F. Lewis as supply pastor for one year.

The Reverend D. Emory Burtner had a five-year pastorate between 1893 and 1898. Mr. Burtner had only recently come to Boylston when the Church celebrated its One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary and the new minister's installation into the office of pastor and teacher was part of the Anniversary celebration on October 6, 1893. The Reverend Mr. Burtner now resides in Lynn and we have had correspondence with him relative to this Anniversary occasion.

The parish had plans at that time for the building of an addition to the Church to make room for the organ and choir at the front end of the sanctuary, bringing the choir down from the rear gallery which, since the earliest days of New England choirs had been the position from which they "made a joyful noise unto the Lord." Now the singers were to be seen as well as heard, the wisdom and fitness of which we must leave to the individual hearers and, of course, depending upon the quality and extent of the singers' histrionics, if there were any such in the early days of Boylston's choirs.

The membership of the Church at this time is given as 125 and Lyman P. Kendall and Lyman S. Walker are mentioned as the deacons.

An interesting record in the first report of Mr. Calvin H. Andrews as Parish Clerk, under date of April 11, 1894, is an item of "2.60 for blowing the church organ." Who did the blowing is not mentioned.

The earliest reference to the abandoning of the pew rental system is in an article date January 6, 1896 when, among other things, "A Committee was chosen to investigate and report to the Parish what could be done to repair the meeting-house and to make the church pews free" It must have been shortly there-after that the free pew system was inaugurated as the records show that in 1896 extensive repairs were begun on the interior of the Church at which time new pews were installed and the old ones sold "to persons living in the town for the sum of $1.00 each." The work got under way in earnest, judging from the following item in the proceedings of April 5, 1896:

"Motion was made and seconded that the work of tearing out the inside of the church be commenced the day following the lecture to be given by William Davenport.
And voted that the side of the new organ facing the pulpit be finished ornamentally instead of being paneled."

The Reverend Samuel B. Cooper was acting pastor for four years between 1898 and 1902 then became pastor of the First Congregational Church in North Brookfield, Massachusetts.

THE REVEREND GEORGE S. DODGE

A long and fruitful pastorate was begun in 1902 when the Reverend George S. Dodge came to Boylston. Mr. Dodge was the son of the Reverend John Dodge of Harvard, Massachusetts and it was there that his boyhood days were spent. He was ordained in Hebron, Connecticut and for many years was pastor of the Congregational Church at Rutland and later served Emanuel Congregational Church in Worcester. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dodge were greatly loved and respected by Boylston people and, since their residence here is within the memory of many of our people, it is natural that frequent and affectionate reference is made to them by those who knew them well.

Mr. Dodge was pastor for fifteen years. After his retirement he went to Rutland to live where he died in 1923. Shortly after leaving his Boylston pastorate Mr. Dodge was made Pastor-emeritus by vote of the Church on April 6, 1918. The records indicate a period marked by many activities in the Church and a spirit of willing cooperation and Christian harmony among the people. During Mr. Dodge's ministry the Church was legally incorporated. Under a minute of January 5, 1910 is this note:

"On January 25, 1909 our charter for incorporation arrived with the certificate and that the preparation of the necessary papers, in compliance with the law, had been complete in all respects, was very gratifying to the committee to whom the matter was entrusted."

It is fitting that reference be made at this point to the splendid set of records of Church meetings preserved from most of the period of Mr. Dodge's pastorate. For thirteen years, between 1903 and 1916, Mrs. Mabelle L. Shattuck was Church Clerk and a finer and more interesting set of minutes was never spread upon a church record book. Written in clear and steady hand, the proceedings of those years are a delight to read. Mrs. Shattuck, now in advanced years, is living with a daughter in Sterling.

A proceeding of great importance was carried through during this period when, on April 8, 1910, the old Parish Organization which was begun in 1743, was dissolved and the Church and Parish became one. Mrs. Shattuck describes the first meeting of the merged organization thus:

"This day has marked a new epoch in the history of this church, known to so many as the 'little church on the hill,' --in that it has seen the dissolution of the First Parish, founded in 1743, it being merged into the organization hereafter to be known as the First Congregational Church, the charter granting the incorporation being received January 29, 1910 "Though the trend of the times has made it seem right for those in authority thus to do, still to many of those remembering the dear ones who labored for the parish and its good name, and have now gone to their reward, it seemed like the parting of the ways and in the exercises of the morning, beginning at eleven o'clock, the reminiscences were most tender."

From this same record there are two or three interesting facts concerning certain persons whose lives were closely associated with the Church. The fact is brought out that for fifty years as of that date, April 8, Deacon Lyman P. Kendall had been a member of the Church. In recognition of the anniversary of his long and faithful membership Mr. Kendall was presented a bouquet of carnations.

Another interesting item from that meeting is the record established by "Mrs. Henrietta M. Andrews, the retiring clerk of the parish, who with her father, the late Deacon Henry H. Brigham, has kept the records of the parish continuously for 1839 to 1910, with the exception of one year, when John G. Warner was clerk."

Mention should be made, also, of another illustrious character in the Church's life. Lyman S. Walker was born in 1840 and died in 1921; for forty-four years, and until the time of his death, he was a deacon in this Church. It is a well established fact that Deacon Walker had not been absent from a Communion Service for forty years. He was a farmer by occupation and Sunday he arose earlier than on other days so that the milk route was covered in time to enable him to be in his pew at service time, then he remained for Sunday School and afternoon service. He lived four miles from the Church.

RELIGIOUS BEGINNINGS IN MORNINGDALE

The Morningdale Chapel had its beginning during Mr. Dodge's ministry in Boylston. The first reference in the record to the plan of constructing a building, for social and religious purposes, in the Morningdale section is contained in the minutes of a special business meeting, June 19, 1912. Prior to that time a Sunday School had been conducted in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Stevenson on Cook Street. The School was under the sponsorship of Old South Church, Worcester, and Mr. Varnum Curtis, a member of that church, took a leading part in the Morningdale project. Mrs. Jane Cook, remembered affectionately by many Boylston people made a generous offer in the form of a gift of $1000 to erect the building and, also, a loan of $1000 for the same purpose, the note never to be called unless she became indigent. Mrs. Cook's generous offer was accepted by the Trustees and additional funds for the project were raised among the townspeople. The First Congregational Church of Boylston agreed to sponsor the religious effort in Morningdale and its pastor, the Rev. Mr. Dodge, and officers gave constant leadership to the new organization. For twenty-one years Deacon George H. Boyden was Superintendent of the Sunday School.

A description of the breaking of the ground in preparation for the building is given in a record under date of July 24, 1912. Deacon Lyman Walker, having just completed 35 years as Deacon, broke the first piece of soil. Others having a part in that program were the Pastor, Mrs. Cook, George E. Glazier and Mrs. Gertrude Brown who played the Billhorn baby organ while the assembly sang the songs of praise. The Chapel was dedicated January 10, 1913 and the first Sunday School session in the new house was on January 12, 1913. As time went on additional activities were commenced at the Chapel among which was the forming of a Ladies' Aid Society, which functions prosperously at present and does good work in maintaining the building and its equipment. Mr. Ralph W. Hager, assisted by a group of loyal teachers, has been Superintendent of the Sunday School since 1934.

Many a preacher would be happy to have such speedy and concrete results from a missionary sermon as came to Mr. Dodge when, having preached in October 1911 a certain sermon in which he appealed for missionary support, "a visitor from Connecticut was so impressed that on Christmas evening of that year he sent our pastor a check for $500 requesting that he act as scribe in sending the check to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to be used in supporting a missionary teacher in India for ten years."

Mr. Dodge resigned the pastorate in September 1917 and his doing so was the cause of sincere regret throughout the community.

The Reverend William G. Poor came to Boylston in 1918 and was here for one year then became pastor of the Congregational Church in Upton. It is said that Mr. Poor was unusually gifted as a pulpit orator. " 'In every star Thy wisdom shines' was no hollow phrase for him as he was an amateur astronomer well versed in his art. He was a man of fine figure which, with his snow-white hair, made him seem almost like one of the prophets."

The next pastor was the Reverend George H. Reese, who was called in November 1919 from Ashfield and remained here until October 1925. It was during this period that the great fire destroyed the beautiful old meeting-house which had stood on Boylston Common since 1835.

Following the fire and until the Vestry was ready for occupancy the pastor conducted services in the Town Hall and the record shows that, in spite of the inconvenience which the disaster created, Church activities went on without interruption. As a part of the campaign for funds to build the new Church, the pastor, Mr. Reese, made an appeal by letter to churches throughout Worcester County and the very generous sum of $3300 was received.

Upon completing his work in Boylston the Reverend Mr. Reese went to a pastorate in Connecticut.

The Reverend Herman P. Fisher, a retired clergyman living in Westboro, served the Church as ad interim pastor for one year, 1925-1926. Mr. Fisher, though a man in advanced years, made a pleasing appeal to both young and old. He possessed an almost uncanny gift of memory and it is said that in the public services of the Church he never read the Scripture Lesson but was able to recite the passage from memory. Mr. Fisher was widely known throughout Worcester County and was always a welcome member at an Ecclesiastical Council or wherever his brethren in the ministry met for conference or discussion.

The Reverend Frederic W. Manning came to the pastorate in 1926 from Manchester-by-the-Sea and was here until the fall of 1936 when failing health necessitated his retirement. Shortly after his departure the Church very fittingly voted Mr. Manning the honor of Pastor-emeritus. At present he and Mrs. Manning make their home in Duxbury.

Within a year of Mr. Manning's arrival the new Church was dedicated, November 6, 1927. Ministers participating in the Service were Revs. Frederic W. Manning, George H. Reese, Edward D. Disbrow, D. Emory Burtner, Frederick D. Thayer, and Matthew A. Vance. Mr. Walter A. Morrill was at the organ and music was given by the choir, directed by Mrs. Rebecca Garfield. Mrs. Gerald Fales, nee Mabel Carlson sang How Beautiful Upon the Mountains and a solo, Open the Gates of the Temple was given by Frederick W. Fahlstrom.

The following evening, November 7, the Dedicatory Recital was given of the Flagg Memorial Organ, Mr. W. A. Goldsworthy of New York City being the recitalist, assisted by John B. Cadieux, tenor, and Frederic W. Bailey, accompanist.

The superb instrument, with all its unusual features, is an inspiring aid in the services of the sanctuary. It has been well said by a friend that "the real end of worship is to find the mystic chord that vibrates to the breath of the Unseen." It is the willing testimony of some of us that "the mystic chord" has, on many a quiet hour in the Church, been touched and tuned by the sweet strains of the organ.

We can not boast that the Church was dedicated free of debt. It was a tremendous undertaking for a parish of this size and without the generous aid of loyal friends beyond the limits of the town the likelihood is that an edifice of much more modest design and construction would have been erected. At the time of dedication there was a mortgage indebtedness of $10,000, the Trustees having made an arrangement with the Congregational Church Building Society to reduce the principal by $1000 each year until the obligation was discharged. This the Church was able to do for a few years. In 1929, however, the economic depression laid a heavy hand upon families and institutions of every kind. Money for the ordinary and curtailed running expenses of churches came hard but the record shows that not a single year passed in that whole difficult period without the Trustees being able to pay yearly some small amount to reduce the mortgage.

The present incumbent began his pastorate on March 17, 1937. The Service of Ordination to the Christian Ministry and Installation in the Office of Pastor was conducted May 27, 1937 and was the first service of its kind to be held in Boylston since the Installation of the Reverend Mr. Burtner in 1893 at the time of the One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary.

During the six and one-half years of the present ministry your pastor and his wife have been "happy in the unanimity and cordial friendship of a kind, liberal and grateful people" and because of the happy cooperation that has characterized our labors together we believe it to be no indication of foolish boasting to say that the Kingdom has been advanced, at least a little in our midst. The facts are mentioned, primarily, in the interest of completing the record of these two hundred years and that in the eyes of posterity we may justify our having received "the torch from ancestral hands."

There have been 132 additions to the membership and probably the largest ingathering at any one time in the Church's history was at the Communion Service on Thursday evening of Holy Week, April 6, 1939 when there were 43 accessions, 27 on confession of faith and 16 by letters of dismission and recommendation from other churches. The pastor has had the privilege of baptizing 90 persons into the Faith and has officiated at 77 funerals and 45 marriages.

Reference has already been made to the heavy indebtedness with which the Church had been struggling since completion of the building. The Trustees arranged a meeting of members and interested friends October 31, 1941 for the avowed purpose of clearing the debt. An inspirational address, with a deliberate money-raising motive behind it, was given by the Reverend J. Burford Parry of Wellesley. Then the campaign was launched to raise all we could "on the spot." $1563.54 was the amount needed "to card the dead horse away," as the speaker described the mortgage. When the cash gifts and pledges were totaled at the close of the meeting $1215.54 had been raised and a few days later, when some absent members had been called on, the sum was brought up to $1710. By Easter of the following year 95% of the pledges were paid and plans were made to burn the mortgage. The Church Clerk, Mr. Forest H. Bump, has inserted in the record the following description of that event:

"At the morning service on October 4, 1942 an event of great historical significance in the life of our Church was conducted by the Pastor. After laboring for 15 years to clear the indebtedness on the building, the people were privileged to witness the burning of the mortgage. The impressive service was attended by about 175 members and friends.

"Mr. George H. Boyden, who served as Chairman of the Building Committee, gave a very interesting resume of the plans for the great task and of the way in which they were carried through. Many anecdotes of an intensely interesting nature were related, some of which could be recalled by the older residents but which had not been heard by many of the younger people and residents who had more recently come to Boylston to live.

"Following Mr. Boyden's remarks, the Pastor led the congregation in the Litany of Dedication which was used in the first service in the new church. This was followed by the actual burning of the mortgage. The document was placed by the Pastor in a pewter bowl and while holding it in the sight of the people, he read the following statement concerning it history; "To this document, bearing the names of the First Congregational Church of Boylston, Massachusetts, as mortgagor, and the Congregational Church Building Society, as Mortgagee, and executed in the City of Worcester, Massachusetts on the 30th day of June 1927, at three-twelve o'clock p.m., and recorded on the Statute Books by Chester S. Bavis, Register, the signers on behalf of the Church being George H. Boyden, Clarence C. Allen and Ernest M. Fuller, --we apply the flame that shall destroy it, thus indicating that this House of God is free of financial debt. In doing so, we call to mind the loyalty and generosity of the hundreds of people, both within the parish and beyond, the living and dead, who have had a part in this holy undertaking.

"We now reconsecrate this House of God to all the holy uses for which a Christian Church is built, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

"Then, with the congregation standing and the Deacons, Mr. Calvin H. Andrews, Mr. George H. Boyden, Mr. Clarence C. Allen and Mr. Ernest M. Fuller, together with Mr. Alfred Anderson, age 87, the oldest living member of the church, and Mr. Wesley M. Fuller, age 10, the youngest member, gathered in a semi-circle around the Pastor, the document was burned. Wesley took the paper from the bowl and held it to the flame of one of the candles on the Communion Table until it became ignited, then placed it in the pewter bowl and the Pastor handed the bowl to Mr. Anderson, who held the dish until the document burned and while the congregation sang the Dedicatory Hymn, "Father, As Once With Earnest Consecration," written for use at the dedication of the new church by the late Ruth L. Boyden.
The Pastor then administered the Sacrament of Holy Communion, followed by the Hymn, "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts" and the Service was concluded with the Benediction."

It has been thought fitting to incorporate into this historical narrative incidents connected with the building of the new edifice of which Boylston people have true cause to be proud. With this thought in mind, the pastor asked Deacon George H. Boyden to prepare a set of notes around which we might weave a story. Mr. Boyden was Chairman of the Building Committee and was a leading spirit in the work of erecting a sanctuary that would honor the Cause it represents and glorify the God of Jesus Christ to Whose glory the place has been dedicated.

The fire was discovered at one o'clock in the afternoon of February 4, 1924. At two the old clock, which the fathers had so proudly placed in the steeple at the turn of the century, struck for the last time. "Soon after the beams holding it and the bell burned away on the south side of the belfry and in some miraculous manner the unburned beams formed a track on which the bell and clock striking hammer coasted down into the west driveway." The bell had been placed on the old Church in 1861 and was rung for the first time on October 13 of that year as Boylston's first contingent left town for the Civil War. The old bell continues to call us to Sabbath worship just as it once summoned our predecessors to the place of prayer.

By five o'clock in the afternoon of that bleak February day little was left of the ninety-year-old meeting-house. The Beth-el which the fathers had raised to God was gone, but their children and their children's children were still here and they "had a mind to work." The following day, while rummaging through the ruins, Mr. Boyden found part of an unburned hymnal, the book opened at the hymn, The Church's One Foundation. In describing the scene at the time of the fire Deacon Boyden states:

"Those of us who were there decided the Church must be rebuilt--just how we could not then see. But it was the Church where some of us had been married, where many of our children had been consecrated in baptism and where we had held the last sad rites over our dead. It must be rebuilt for a town without a Church is like a ship without a rudder; nothing to hold it to better things."

The Trustees of that day, beside Mr. Boyden, were Miss Annie Benson and Mr. Calvin H. Andrews. Mrs. Myron Garfield was made financial secretary of the building fund and through her hands were passed many thousands of dollars. Mrs. George I. Adams was Church Clerk and of all the meetings and deliberations carefully prepared records were made and preserved. A meeting of the townspeople and all interested friends was called Wednesday, February 6 in the Town Hall and the general sentiment was that the House must be rebuilt. The insurance on the old building amounted to only $5500, a paltry sum with which to start so great a task as was about to be begun. The Church soon discovered, however, that standing ready to help were scores of friends, some having lived here in former years and others being descendants of people who had labored and worshipped here in the past.

By February of 1925 the vestry was ready to house the congregation and take care of all the activities of the Church organizations. The exterior of the building was finished in toto but only the lower Church was equipped and prepared for use. In the spring of 1926 work was commenced on the unfinished portion and by November 1927 the people were ready to "raise their Ebenezer unto the Lord for hither by His help had they come."

We wish the size of volume set for this published story allowed the recording now of all the glad donors who came forward to have a part in the work at hand. A very lengthy list appears in the record showing how the gifts came. Some had horses they could harness to help with the labor, others had sturdy trucks they could use to carry away the debris; some had physical strength they could use in the manual work, and others some special talent that was needed. The culinary skill of the devoted women was put to use in the old Town Hall where they prepared hot dinners for the workmen. Many there were who had money to give--and gave it. Even the "widow's mite" of the Gospel story was represented in a gift of one gold dollar brought by that saintly woman, the late Mrs. Carrie Williams, of whom it could always be said, "She hath done what she could." That dollar the Trustees thought too sacred to spend so they stored it away with the Church's few historic possessions as a memorial to the good woman.

Mr. Edwin T. Chapin, Worcester, was the architect and the contract for completing the sanctuary was awarded Robbins and Company of Worcester. The present valuation of the edifice, including the organ, is $75,000.

The beautiful Doric pillars in the portico were purchased for the very small sum of $75 from the Baptist Church of Sterling, that organization having merged with the Congregational Church of the same town.

To our friends, Mr. and Mrs. George F. Fuller, we can never amply pay our thanks, not only for the beautiful Flagg Memorial Organ and the many additional dollars given, but also for the capable leadership of Mr. Fuller in seeing to it that the Church received full value for every dollar spent and his thoughtful planning in getting us a Church beautiful in design, perfect in every proportion, well suited to our needs and architecturally correct.

Aside from the organ there are numerous memorials in the Sanctuary. The six clear glass windows, so gracefully arched, are in pleasing harmony with the colonial design of the Church. On the east side, beginning at the pulpit end, the windows memorialize the following: Mr. and Mrs. John Gould Warner, Deacon and Mrs. William Holland Moore, Levi L. and Caroline E. Barnes; and on the west side, The Stark Family, Henrietta Brigham Andrews, Henry and Lucy Hastings.
Many of the pews were given as memorials and others simply presented as the gift of an individual or an organization. The bronze plaques on the pews bear the following inscriptions:

The clock on the face of the gallery is a memorial to the Reverend and Mrs. George S. Dodge. The pulpit appointments were placed in memory of Deacon and Mrs. Lyman P. Kendall. The pulpit Bible is in memory of Montraville and Abbie Davis Flagg. On the west end of the pulpit is the Pastor's Room, pleasantly furnished, in memory of Alvin S. Dearth. The two most recent memorials placed in the Church are a beautiful brass Cross for the Communion Table in memory of William Monigle and a pew in memory of the Henry White Family.

Through the years the Church has received certain bequests from which a modest annual income is derived. It is unfortunate that due to destruction by fire many years ago of certain records, the identity of the oldest of the legacies is not known and efforts in recent years to establish the names of the donors have brought no satisfying results. Bequests of which we do have record are: The Abigail Holcombe Fund, The Maynard Fund, The Andrew Bigelow Fund, The Penniman Brigham Fund, The Loring H. Reed Fund, The Carrie Williams Fund, and The Abbie P. Dearth Fund, now in process of being established. An outright cash bequest, from the late Peter Stewart, was received in 1941.

This brings us to the end of our story. If the narrative inspires in us and in our children gratitude to God for our rich heritage, "holding it vividly in mind," the future of the Church will secure even though, from time to time, "earthquake shocks may threaten her." With that thought in mind, let us continue to pray Kipling's prayer: